I'm coming back to America for a visit in less than a month and I have started compliling many lists of what I want to do, what I have to get done, what I want to buy and bring back with me, and most importantly what I want to eat. Here's my working list:
To Do (both want and need):
1. Weddings
2. Doctor, eye, dentist appointments
3. Go to the cabin
4. Drive my car...a lot.
5. Watch a new movie
6. Get my hair cut
7. Open house party
To Eat:
1. Chipotle
2. Steak
3. Pulled pork
4. Cheeseburger
5. Pizza (from Bulldogs and V.I.P)
6. Starbs (obvi)
7. French toast
8. Hotdog
9. BBQ sauce (I'll probably put it on anything)
10. Dr. Pepper
Well that's it for now but I expect it to continue. Less than one month!!!!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
"How are you? I'm Fine!"
Well, I survived my first child health week and let me say it was a VERY busy week! 2 times per year (June and November/December) the ministry of health has a week dedicated to child health where the purpose is to weigh every child under 5 and provide Vitamin A, de-worming meds, and even measles vaccine to all the kids all for free. In my catchment area we covered our 10 zones over a 2-day period doing 5 zones per day. It was crazy to say the least but we made it through!
My main objective was to collect my data for all the kids age 6-60 months for my upcoming PS-Ishiko project. I had to collect the names of all the mothers and children, their weight and corresponding status (eg normal, mildly malnourished, severely malnourished), birth date, and then mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC). After all this data was collected I then calculated the overall nutrition status of each child and complied the statics for each zone. In each of my 10 zones there were HIGH rates of malnutrition totaling about 45-60% and normal children only being about 20%.
So the upcoming PS-Ishiko project will work to rehabilitate these malnourished children by having the mothers of the healthy children teach them healthy feeding behaviors. This will be done by holding daily sessions for 12 days where the mothers learn about a different health topic and then how to cook an improved porridge with the addition of a protein and vitamin source. The mothers will leave each day with a liter of this improved porridge to give their children throughout the day in addition to their regular meals. So the hope is that at the end of the 12 days the children will have gained weight and the mothers will have learned new behaviors to continue the weight gain and take their children to a healthy weight status. It's a lot of work, but the impact can also be really big as well.
The rest of my month has been spent doing work around my house. I am happy to report that after 8 months of being in my house I now have all my furniture! It was a big day when I finally placed the couch in my house and was a LONG time coming. I've also been working hard clearing the dry grasses from my yard to make it less inviting for snakes. So I purchased a slasher and then went to work and have finished with a blister to remember my hard work.
I also completed one of my goals of biking to Chishimba Falls, which is about 35km from my house. I set out one morning and made it in about 2 hours and was able to spend some time with some other volunteers swimming in the water before heading back. The ride back was much more difficult and took about 2.5 hours and for the next few days I was feeling that 70km!
So needless to say, June has been a busy month! Thanks for reading!
My main objective was to collect my data for all the kids age 6-60 months for my upcoming PS-Ishiko project. I had to collect the names of all the mothers and children, their weight and corresponding status (eg normal, mildly malnourished, severely malnourished), birth date, and then mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC). After all this data was collected I then calculated the overall nutrition status of each child and complied the statics for each zone. In each of my 10 zones there were HIGH rates of malnutrition totaling about 45-60% and normal children only being about 20%.
So the upcoming PS-Ishiko project will work to rehabilitate these malnourished children by having the mothers of the healthy children teach them healthy feeding behaviors. This will be done by holding daily sessions for 12 days where the mothers learn about a different health topic and then how to cook an improved porridge with the addition of a protein and vitamin source. The mothers will leave each day with a liter of this improved porridge to give their children throughout the day in addition to their regular meals. So the hope is that at the end of the 12 days the children will have gained weight and the mothers will have learned new behaviors to continue the weight gain and take their children to a healthy weight status. It's a lot of work, but the impact can also be really big as well.
The rest of my month has been spent doing work around my house. I am happy to report that after 8 months of being in my house I now have all my furniture! It was a big day when I finally placed the couch in my house and was a LONG time coming. I've also been working hard clearing the dry grasses from my yard to make it less inviting for snakes. So I purchased a slasher and then went to work and have finished with a blister to remember my hard work.
I also completed one of my goals of biking to Chishimba Falls, which is about 35km from my house. I set out one morning and made it in about 2 hours and was able to spend some time with some other volunteers swimming in the water before heading back. The ride back was much more difficult and took about 2.5 hours and for the next few days I was feeling that 70km!
So needless to say, June has been a busy month! Thanks for reading!
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